Shoe-lacing.



E. w. LUCAS @I c. I. SAUNIIEIIS.

SHOE LACING.

APPLICATION FILED MAII. 26.

l 9i 5- l Patented- Feb. 1, y1916.

v //vI/E/vrok Edward W Lucas AITon/vfys WITH/8858 THE COLUMBIA PLAIJIDGRAPH Co., WASHINGTON. D. C.

EDWARD WALTER `LUCAS AND ,CHARLES JAMES SAUNDDRS, vorsARDEN CITY, NDW

YORK.

SHOE-LACING.

To all whom t may concer-n p Be it known that we, EDWARD W. LUCAS and CHARLES J. SAUNDERS, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Garden City, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, vhave invented apnew land'Improved Shoe-Lacing, of Awhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to sport shoes such as are used by golfers andothers, and it has to deal more particularly withv improvements in the means for lacing the shoe, and in this regard the in vention 'is not necessarily limited to sport shoes.

The invention has for its general objects to improve and simplify the construction of means for lacing shoes whereby the shoe can be drawn tight or loosened with great rapidity and ease and without requiring the lacing to be laced and unlaced. The shoe is provided along the edgesof the front opening with studs around which the lacing is engaged in such a manner that apull midway down the lacing and yanother pull at the ends of the lacing will be sufficient to draw the shoe tight around the foot.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of aseries of rivets, studs or posts along the edges of the openingof the shoe, which rivets, studs or posts are applied to the shoe upper and to. strips of leather or other material fastened theretov in such a manner that a neat and attractive .Y

appearance is obtained, and at the same time the lacing is effectively kept in laced condition.

1With such objects in view, and others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be set forth with particularity in the following description and claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of the invention and wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, Figure l is a perspective view of the shoe with the upper drawn open so as to illustrate the details of construction; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 24-2, Fig. l, before the shoe is drawn closed; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view through one ofthe studs or posts; Fig. 5

specification of Letters Patent, Application filled March 26,1915. 'Serial No. 17,126.

Patenten Feb'. i, i916.

vis a sectional view` on the line 45-5, Fig. l;

Figi 6 is a sectional view' on the line 6 -6, F ig. l; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7 7, Fig. l;

In the present instance the invention is shown applied to a high shoe, but it is to be understood that it may be applied to a lowr shoe a's well. f l

Referring .tothe drawing, A designates a shoe of any approved construction of the laced type, and the'front edges of the lupper are adapted to be drawn together by a shoe lacing l,Y preferably, although not necessarily, of the round type. This lacing is engaged with A,spaced studs, posts or rivets 21 arranged along the front edges of the upper, and, as shown in Fig.V l, the shoe can be'opened by simply slackening or loosening the lacing andfpulling the upper open, the lacing freely sliding on the posts 2. In tighteningthe shoe it is merely necessary to pull on the lacing about midway of the y shoe, say at the'point, byengaging a finger with the portions of the lacingkwhere they cross at the point 3, and pulling upwardly thereon, and then the free ends of the lacing are vgrasped to tighten the shoe above the said pointby pulling upwardly on the lacing'- endsand then such lacing ends are tiedV into a bow. It will thus be seen that with this arrangement the shoe Vcan be quickly put on or taken off, which is a feature especially desired by golfers, and others indulging in sport pastimes.

Stitched along the edges 4c and 5 of the shoe upper are strips of leather or other material 6 and 7 respectively, one of the strips forming the tongue 8 of the shoe, and fastened to these strips are the posts 2. These posts are also fastened to doubled strips of leather or other material 9 and 10 secured to the strips 6 and 7, respectively. The posts 2 are riveted to the strips 9 and 10 before the same are doubled, and after lthey are doubled they are held in this folded condition by a row of stitching 1l located at the side of the posts opposite to the line of fold 12. These strips 9 and 10 conceal the outer ends ofthe posts and give a neat and attractive appearance to the shoe. rI`he strips 8 and 9 are secured at spaced points to the strips 6 and 7, respectively, by stitching 13, these lying midway between adjacent posts 2 and beyond the upper and lowermost posts. By

points of stitching 13 stitching the strips 9 and 10 in this manner the lacing of the shoe is facilitated, since the lacing tips can be inserted' under the said strips at points between the posts 2,- and the points of attachment 13, both in threading the lacing outwardly and inwardly; that is to say, in applying the lacf ing a tip is passed' under a covering strip 9 or 10 at a point under a post 2, the inser.

tion proceeding from the folded edge 12 to the other edge 12', and then the lacing is drawn outwardly in a direction away from the shoe to the desired extent, and then the tip is inserted under the cover strip from the outer edge and passed over the same post 2; Next the lacing tip is crossed o-ver to the opposite edge of the` shoe and inserted under the other cover strip and below the next higher post 2, after which the lacing is turned back and inserted under the same cover strip and above the same post, and in this manner the lacing is threaded back and forth, and after being once completely laced it is unnecessary to disengage the lacing from the posts.

rlhe posts are constructed as shown in Fig. 4, and each consists of an approxi* `mately double conical portion 14 having rivet shanks 15 and 16 that pierce the strips 6 and 9 or 7 and 10, and the rivet shanks are upset into washers 17 if such are desired. By making the bodies of the posts taper 'ing from the ends to the middle the lacing is kept central and free movement ofthe lacing on the posts is insured.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while we have s described the principle of operation, to gether with the device which we now con- Siderkv te be `the best embodiment thereof, we

desire to have it understood that the device lmember at points midway between the posts and outwardly from the outermost posts, whereby twice the number of apertures as there are posts will be formed between the members for the passage of a lacing.

v 2. in a lacing device, an under member,

`an outer member` in the form of a strip doubled longitudinally on itself, spaced posts fastened to the under member and outerv member, and means for fastening the edges of the doubled member to the under member at points intermediate the posts and outwardly from the outermost posts, whereby openings are provided between the members for permitting a lacing to be engaged with the posts.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD wALrnr. Lucas. CHARLES Jai/ins saunnnns.

Vitnesses THEO.l B. KLAPPER, E. R. MULLINER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents-each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D.- C. 

